2009 Judge Biographies

2009 Judge Biographies

Doug Alley
Doug Alley is the Vice President Human Resources for the Business Council of B.C. He is responsible for all aspects of the Council’s work in the human capital arena, including human resources, labour relations, health and safety and training and workforce development. Mr. Alley is a member and Past President of the BC Human Resources Management Association. Currently he chairs the School of Leadership Advisory Board at Royal Roads University and is on the Advisory Committee for the Human Resources programs at BCIT. Mr. Alley is also a lay representative on the Board of the Certified Management Accountants of BC. He is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Aslam Anis
Dr. Aslam Anis is a Professor of Health Economics and the Director of the Health Administration (MHA) Program at the University of British Columbia. He concurrently heads the Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomics research programs at the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, the Canadian HIV Trials Network and the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada. He is a member of the Research Advisory Council of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and The Canadian HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Anis's research interests include health economics and economic evaluation, pharmaceutical policy, pricing, formulary regulations, health services research, pharmacoepidemiology, population health, Arthritis and HIV/AIDS. He received his PhD in Economics from Carleton University.

Pat Bawtinheimer
Pat Bawtinheimer is Dean of the Health Sciences Program at Vancouver Community College.

Roberta Ellis
Roberta Ellis is Vice President Policy, Investigations, Review and Corporate Communications & Planning for WorkSafeBC. Ms. Ellis is a former director of the Canadian Institute for Health Information. She has previously served as Chair of the Manitoba Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and was appointed Civil Service Commissioner and Pay Equity Commissioner, leading the implementation of Canada’s first proactive pay equity legislation. Ms. Ellis has also served as Deputy Minister of Manitoba Labour, the President of the Premier’s Economic Innovation and Technology Council, Associate Deputy Minister of Health with responsibility for labour contracts and human resource matters. Ms. Ellis holds an MA from Edinburgh University, Edinburg, Scotland.

Casey Forrest
With more than 25 years’ experience in executive search, Casey Forrest brings to the organization a dynamic blend of business savvy and interpersonal skills. A Partner at the executive search firm Pinton Forrest & Madden, Mr. Forrest’s keen understanding of people enables him to quickly grasp the particular needs of an assignment, resulting in winning results for clients and candidates alike. Throughout his career, he has utilized his strategic abilities to complete senior executive searches for an array of public and private sector clients. Mr. Forrest shares his organizational development expertise with a variety of community and national organizations. As a member of the YMCA of Greater Vancouver’s board, he is an active participant in the organization's capital campaign. In addition, he is involved with the development of the Junior Achievement's Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame.

Mandy Farmer
In addition to providing friendly, environmentally conscious service to guests of the company’s five hotels in BC, Mandy Farmer, CEO of Victoria-based Accent Inns, also strives to improve her local community. She created the Commitment to Community (C to C) initiative, in which hotel staff contribute through clothing drives, donations to homeless shelters and support of more than 230 organizations in BC, including the United Way, BC Persons with Disabilities and the Land Conservancy. A life-long learner, Ms. Farmer completed her executive MBA in 2003 while working full time. She has attended executive programs at Cornell University and the Canadian Professional Management Services and is a motivational speaker for the Go2 Speaker’s Bureau, a non-profit human resources association that promotes careers in BC’s tourism industry. She sits on the boards of Tourism Victoria, Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFÉ) and Royal Roads University Centre of Entrepreneurship.

Mark Forward
Mark Forward is the General Manager and Director of Finance for Concord Security Corporation. Concord is one of BC’s largest security companies, celebrating over 25 years in business and employing over 1,000 security guards. Mr. Forward has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and is a Certified General Accountant. He is in charge of all business operations of Concord and is also active in the community by volunteering at Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.

Nancy Gault
In her role as Client Affairs Manager for BC and the Yukon at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Ms. Gault serves as a liaison between CIHI’s internal and external stakeholders. She is involved in increasing awareness of CIHI’s products and services and providing a translation of the needs of the west to CIHI. Ms. Gault’s formal education is in nursing, health administration and business administration. She previously worked at the Canadian Medical Protective Association as Manager of Planning and Performance. Prior to that, Ms. Gault worked for Deloitte Consulting as Manager of Business Strategy in their healthcare practice. She has also worked as a hospital administrator in a community hospital.

BJ Gdanski
BJ Gdanski is Business Manager for the BC Academic Health Council (BCAHC). Ms. Gdanski brings more than 10 years of international experience in education, communications, property, administration, special projects and operations management. She has liaised numerous community partnerships and has a passion for business and policy development. In 2004, she was a key player in organizing the Annual Beijing Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention conference and worked with the Beijing Olympic Committee. As a former business professor, Ms. Gdanski has extensive experience in curriculum development and has developed and delivered professional development and leadership workshops, both for the healthcare and private sectors. Ms. Gdanski participates on the following Committees or Working Groups: BC Academic Health Council: Operating Committee, Practice Education Committee, Preceptor Development and Support Committee, Rural Health Committee, Electronic Health Library of BC Management Committee and Steering Committee, International Practice Experience Committee.

Carol Goozh
Carol Goozh has been on the senior management team of Community Living BC (CLBC) since 2005. She has a Masters degree in social work and has held a variety of positions in the field of community living, including that of Provincial Director for Community Living Services in the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Her policy work in CLBC has focused on both child and adult supports, with an emphasis on promoting community inclusion and equity.

David Helliwell
David Helliwell is co-founder of West Vancouver-based energy conservation software company the Small Energy Group and leads its day-to-day operations. Mr. Helliwell has been involved in the energy sector since 1994, when he worked as an exploration geophysicist. Since then he has lived and worked around the world as a geophysicist, a poorly-paid professional windsurfer, and corporate strategy consultant. From 2002 to 2005 he worked as senior policy adviser to a federal cabinet minister in the Canadian government. Mr. Helliwell has studied geophysics, economics and business at the University of British Columbia, Harvard University and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Paris).

Pat Kasprow
Pat Kasprow is President of Pat Kasprow and Associates Health Care Consulting Ltd. Since January 2009, she has worked with various organizations in preparation for or response to Accreditation Canada surveys. She is also working on special projects and providing coaching to new leaders in the healthcare industry. Ms. Kasprow was the Chief Executive Officer of the New Vista Society and Foundation until December 2008. The New Vista Society operates a 236-bed residential care facility, 650 housing units for low-income seniors and people with disabilities, an adult day program and many community outreach programs. Ms. Kasprow is a surveyor for the Canadian Council of Health Services and past president of the Burnaby Metrotown Rotary Club. She was a coach for participants in the 2008 HCLABC Leaders for Life Program.

Kathy Kinloch
With her leadership background across the health system, Kathy Kinloch offers perspective on the challenges leaders face as they align strategies with personal and organizational goals. Ms. Kinloch has held senior executive roles in regional health system delivery and was senior advisor for the B.C. Ministry of Health. She is now Dean of the School of Health Sciences at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, where she leads a new team to align Health Sciences education with the needs of the provincial health system. Ms. Kinloch is an RN, BScN, MA (Leadership) and certified executive coach. She is a member of numerous professional associations and is an associate faculty member at Royal Roads University as well as a core faculty member for Leaders for Life’s 12 for 12 Program.

Kazuko Komatsu
Kazuko Komatsu is the President and CEO of Pacific Western Brewing Company Western Canada’s largest independent brewery. Prior to this, she was an agent for a Japanese gas company that imported industrial gas from North America. In 1979, she established Kowa Canada Ltd., and later Nika Marketing Corp., exporting log homes and building products to Japan. In 1997, Ms. Komatsu established Natureland Products Ltd. (NPL), which develops and markets specialty health products and beverages in Canada and around the globe. She has been active on various boards, including the University of Northern British Columbia Foundation, the Canadian Agri-Food Marketing council, the Vancouver Port Authority and Royal Roads University. In 1998, she was appointed by International Trade Minister Sergio Marchi to his Team Canada Inc. Advisory Board. Ms. Komatsu was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 1998. She is a vice-chair of the Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce.

Kyle Mitchell
Kyle Mitchell is Chair and Partner of the Vancouver office of the executive search firm Ray & Berndtson, where he has helped many leading public sector organizations in BC recruit board members, CEOs and other senior executives. Mr. Mitchell serves as a 2010 Olympic Games Ambassador and has been a member of numerous boards, including BC Life & Casualty Co., the UBC Sauder School of Business Advisory Board, the Vancouver Board of Trade and the Vancouver Public Library. His earlier career was in a senior human resources role with a major Canadian bank in Montreal and with a multi-divisional consumer products company in New York. Mr. Mitchell holds degrees in commerce and law from the University of British Columbia. For his community service, he received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the 125th Anniversary of Confederation Commemorative Medal in 1992.

Harry Parslow
Harry Parslow leads the health, academic and not-for-profit divisions of The Caldwell Partners International, an executive search firm. He has an extensive background as a senior executive in healthcare and in the public service in four provinces and has worked in hospitals, health regions, non government organizations and government. He holds a Master’s degree in Science (Physiology) and a Master’s degree in Health Administration. Mr. Parslow has served as an advisory member to the University of British Columbia, British Columbia Institute of Technology and Royal Roads University. He has worked closely with voluntary boards over the last 15 years and chaired a provincial strategy report on mental health for the BC Ministry of Health, which has since been endorsed by the Premier. He is currently an elected BC representative to the National Board of the Canadian College of Health Service and Executives and a board member of the Healthcare Leaders Association of BC.

Don Prior
Don Prior is a Partner in Watson Advisors Inc., a Vancouver-based executive advisory firm specializing in corporate governance consulting and human capital solutions. His early career in executive search was with The Caldwell Partners International, where he was Managing Partner for the Vancouver office for 19 years. Born in Kitimat and raised in Prince George, Mr. Prior has a B.A. from Simon Fraser University. After graduation, he spent three years working in Kyoto, Japan at Ritsumeikan University and was editor of the Kyoto Visitors’ Guide. Mr. Prior often works with volunteer selection committees in his not-for-profit activities. He leads The Caldwell Partners’ Selection Committee for Western Canada for its “Top 40 Under 40” awards program and sits on the board of The Emily Carr Foundation and the Vancouver Baseball Foundation. Last year, he completed a six-year term on the board of the Vancouver International Writers Festival.

David Snadden
Dr. David Snadden is Vice Provost Medicine at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and Regional Associate Dean of the University of BC’s Northern Medical Program. He is the former Acting Postgraduate Dean of the University of Dundee in Scotland, where he helped increase the family medicine curriculum time from three per cent to 10 per cent, completed his doctoral thesis (MD) on reflective learning methods, established the Scottish MSc in primary care and researched patient medicine-taking behaviours and revalidation methods for family doctors. In the summer of 2003, Dr. Snadden was appointed to lead the development of the Northern Medical Program at UNBC. He has been involved in all aspects of the expansion, including new staff and faculty appointments, selection of students, talking to physicians and community members, advising on facilities—including the clinical teaching space at Prince George Regional Hospital—and developing the curriculum framework with UBC.

Arlene Ward
Arlene Ward’s work within the rehabilitation community spans the better part of three decades. Today she is the owner of Genesis Rehabilitation Ltd., a proactive, community-based vocational rehabilitation and disability management service provider. Her many contributions to the rehabilitation community include:
· Director, WorkSafeBC British Columbia (2003 - 2008)
· Adjunct Professor, University of Northern BC
· Sessional Instructor at UBC and Dalhousie in community-based vocational rehabilitation services—including disability management—at both undergraduate and graduate levels
· Minister’s Advisor Council for BC Benefits
· CPP Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program
· BC Paraplegic Association, Life After Spinal Cord Injury – editor for content
Ms. Ward specializes in accommodation strategies and early return-to-work interventions; understanding the importance of the interface between evidence-based research, theory and practical application; and recognizing that “work” looks different for each individual.

John Winter
John Winter is President and CEO of the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce. He has considerable experience in the private and non-profit sectors and in working with government at all levels. Mr. Winter's 29-year career in management with Molson Breweries included assignments in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, Newfoundland and California. He has served as a Director of the Vancouver Board of Trade, on the Board of Tourism Vancouver and on the Executive Cabinet for the United Way of the Lower Mainland. He is also a former President of the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club Ltd. Mr. Winter holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Memorial University and studied Marketing at the University of Western Ontario.